Banyana Banyana is in urgent need of help if they are to make an impression and improve their record against higher-ranked teams.
Over the past week, South Africa's national women's team suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of the USA, who enjoyed a 5-0 aggregate. The USA scored three of their five goals from set-pieces which has for some time been the Achilles heel of the South Africans.
The team's poor defence at set-piece time, noticeably the corner kick, is nothing new to the Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis.
This is evident from Ellis' post-match remarks after the first match which ended in a 3-0 defeat. She said: “We always speak about picking up, and if you look at the first goal, we did not pick up. Even the third goal, we didn’t pick up.”
At the recent World Cup, Banyana Banyana suffered defeats against Sweden (2-1) and Netherlands (2-0) who collectively scored four goals in two matches. Two of those goals were scored after corner kicks.
Before the World Cup, South Africa played a few friendlies against much higher-ranked sides like Australia (4-1), Brazil (3-0, 6-0) and Netherlands (5-1) and suffered heavy defeats. A host of the goals they conceded were scored from set-pieces and Banyana Banyana appeared clueless.
After all these matches which have exposed the team's glaring weakness to defend set-pieces, Banyana Banyana has been unable to overcome its failure to prevent goals at set-pieces, although Ellis has often spoken about this weakness.
The answer is to enlist the help of a specialist set-piece coach to join the team's technical staff. Many of the world's leading clubs have appointed specialist set-piece coaches to give them the advantage. Specialist set-piece coaches are no longer on the periphery and their mandate is to prevent 'cheap goals' for the opposition.
When reviewing the goals scored from set-pieces against Banyana Banyana, it is clear opposition sides have done their homework. The routine is a simple one because after the corner kick is taken and it lands in the penalty area, taller opposition players (usually unmarked) rise above the defence and nod home.
This deficiency does not always come to the fore when Banyana Banyana plays against African teams like Morocco. The African players tend to be shorter and Morocco for example could not exploit Banyana Banyana's set-piece weakness because their players did not have the height to give their side the edge in aerial battles in the striking zone.
Teaching defence at set-piece time is no simple matter because opposition coaches devise strategies to create an element of uncertainty among defences. Some teams will have their players up for a set-piece but once the kick comes in, they run out into open spaces and take their markers with them while their unmarked teammates run in to take their places in the striking zone.
Apart from attending to the defence deficiencies, Banyana Banyana also needs to look at their anaemic attack. In two matches against the USA, the team managed one shot at goal in the first clash. In the second clash, the team could not muster one shot at goal in 90 minutes.
Food for thought, Banyana Banyana!
@Herman_Gibbs